Florida Division of Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie has resigned to join Lt. Gov. Jay Collins’ campaign for governor.
Gov. Ron DeSantis said Tuesday he accepted Guthrie’s resignation to avoid “a situation where there’s politics and emergency management. I think you got to choose one or the other.”
Collins’ campaign for governor could end Tuesday, the day after he announced Guthrie as his running mate.
Florida’s primary election will decide who Republican voters want to run as their nominee for the next governor. Collins, once seen by some as a potential successor to DeSantis, did not receive the governor’s endorsement. Polls have not indicated Collins is a favorite to win Tuesday.
DeSantis said Guthrie has “done a great job” responding to hurricanes, flying Floridians caught in harm’s way overseas back to the state, responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, and enforcing immigration laws.
“If people want to choose politics, more power to them. I didn’t necessarily think that was something that Kevin aspired to but, given that he’s doing that, I think it’s important that we have emergency management just focused on emergency management,” DeSantis said.
Guthrie, commonly accompanying DeSantis during TV hits to tell Floridians about hurricanes hitting the state, has held the position since May 2021. He took over from Jared Moskowitz, now a Democrat in the U.S. House.
Florida Department of Transportation Secretary Jared Perdue will take the reins at FDEM, DeSantis said during a higher education roundtable in Sarasota Tuesday.
“It’s a well-oiled machine, we’ve got a lot of great people over there. We’re not going to miss a beat,” DeSantis said.
Although DeSantis has not endorsed in the GOP primary, he wished Guthrie well.
“This is something that I think he believed in and wanted to do and I wish him all the luck in the world,” DeSantis said.
